Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

AI tools are here. They don’t do everything, but they boost productivity. Use the tools.

I am old enough to remember a time in the late 1980s when word processors appeared. There were many older managers who were accustomed to writing in cursive on yellow pads with pencils and handing those to secretaries to type. All of a sudden, they had to type everything themselves. Many of these well-meaning fellows couldn’t type. Try learning that at age 55.

In early May 2025, Jensen Huang said, “You will not lose your job to AI, but will lose it to someone who uses it. I recommend 100% take advantage of AI, don’t be that person.”

The word processor multiplied productivity. No one said to keep out the word processor. Some, as mentioned above, hurt a lot at work when the word processor arrived. Still, they adapted. They adapted or lost their jobs. No one was going to pay for typists any more. Type it yourself.

Why are you sitting there typing? Prompt. Copy. Paste. Edit. Ship it. Same goes for drawing pictures. Same goes for making a video. Sames goes for…the list becomes longer daily.

I can be that person who huffs and puffs and loses my job.

I can be that person who thinks about how to use new tools. I can be that person who creates when the AI cannot and then uses the AI to do all that other work.

We all have choices. Let’s choose well.